Moonlighting
by Violet to Blue
Summary: Joe's excessive spending habits threaten to pull him into financial quicksand. Will he be able to seize a lifeline or will he go under?
1. Chapter 1

**Houston Knights** is an American crime drama set in Houston, Texas. The show ran on CBS from 1987 to 1988 and had 31 episodes. The core of the show was the partnership between two very different cops from two different cultures. Chicago cop Joey LaFiamma is transferred to the Houston Police Department after he kills a mobster from a powerful Mafia family and a contract is put out on him. In Houston he is partnered with Levon Lundy, the grandson of a Texas Ranger. Although as different as night and day, and after a rocky beginning the two cops form a successful partnership and become friends. During the series, it is revealed that both LaFiamma and Lundy have their own personal demons. LaFiamma comes from a Mob family himself and his Chicago police partner had been killed when he went ahead while LaFiamma had waited for backup to arrive. Lundy´s wife had been killed by a car bomb that was intended to kill him.

Standard Disclaimer: Houston Knights belongs to Jay Bernstein and Michael Butler and Columbia Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This is fan fiction, written out of love for the shows. I am making no money off this. I have no money so please don't sue me. Any original characters who may appear in these stories are the property of the author.

Houston Knights Fanfiction

 **Moonlighting**

By Violet to Blue

Summary: Joe's excessive spending habits threaten to pull him into financial quicksand. Will he be able to seize a lifeline or will he go under?

 **Chapter 1**

"Hey Lundy, can you lend me twenty bucks? You´ll get it back next pay day." Joe LaFiamma put the question across quite casually though he felt rather awkward about the request.

Levon Lundy looked over his desk to where his partner was sitting. "How do you think you´ll get by this month? Pay day was only just last week." He had hardly spoken the words when he noticed Joe duck with a blush of embarrassment spreading across his face.

Joe knew that Levon was right. So he did not repeat the request. With his eyes fixed on the report in front of him, his mind wandered back to the previous weekend.

The days off work always brought home to him that he had no family in Houston and no friends. Thinking about it, it was more like he actually had no life here outside work. So the free time that was supposed to be relaxing in fact posed a problem to him. He had to spend time on his own and just did not know how to do that without getting overly homesick. Cruising the streets would have given him a feeling of freedom, but as he still lacked a vehicle of his own, that wasn´t an option right now. And the way he was spending his income, it certainly wouldn´t be one in the near future.

So last Saturday had again found him in one of the extensive shopping malls of the city. Easy going background music, nice air conditioned shops for the well-off customers, friendly shop assistants. Strolling through the shops and being coaxed into trying something on was like shedding the cloak of invisibility he felt much too often hanging over him. The friendly sales personnel all of a sudden became a real life substitute for his lost connection to the world, to the people who had cared about him, and who would take an interest in him.

When he tried on a nice suit their benevolent voices washed over him like that of his aunts or his former girl-friends in the past. "Oh, Joey, that looks great on you!" The pleasurable remarks were just like a balm soothing his uprooted soul. "Sir, this outfit suits you really extraordinarily well. That color complements your eyes just perfectly." As strange as it seemed, but seeing himself in a mirror sometimes was the only way to feel real in a world where he was only a misplaced stranger.

Sometimes he did not even hear what they said. Just the sound of their voices was enough to make him feel better.

Shopping was like an intoxication that helped him forget his loneliness. He felt lightheaded and his mood lifted. So he had spent all day at the mall. In between his visits to the shops he had also frequented a bar and a nice but costly restaurant. He really had enjoyed it. He had been able to relax and to forget his loneliness, and the humid heat of the Houston summer that he found so impossible to get used to.

But just like alcohol or drugs, binge shopping was a short lived pleasure. And the other drawback was the extensive cost. Being constantly broke proved to be worse and far more persistent than any hangover. After the last weekend Joe had to admit that things were seriously getting out of hand.

Not repeating his request for the twenty dollar loan to his partner had left Joe without the means to pay for his dinner at Chicken´s. Even though he felt ashamed Joe had asked Chicken to put the amount he owed him on his tab yet another time. Chicken was a good friend and he would certainly have helped him out one way or another. But he would also have tried to get to the bottom of Joe´s problem. And that was something that Joe just wouldn´t have. He simply felt too embarrassed to talk about his financial predicament.

So this evening Joe sat in his living room, finally trying to get an overview of his financial situation. In front of him lay a heap of receipts, invoices, bank statements and dunning letters. No matter how he looked at it there simply was no denying. He was bankrupt, destitute. He owed his landlord three months rent. He had already been threatened with an eviction order. His phone was less than a week away from being cut off due to the outstanding invoices. In less than another month he would be out on the street.

He had to come up with a plan real fast.

ADADADADADADADADAD

Next day´s morning papers unexpectedly presented Joe with a possible solution. Though money had always been too tight to subscribe to a local newspaper, there were several free ad oriented local print products regularly delivered to the doorstep. Joe had always thrown them away without so much as a second glance, but this morning he picked the papers up on his way to Levon´s car. On the ride to the police station Joe flipped through the pages and at the end of one of the papers he came across the employment ads.

 _ **Night watchman wanted**_

The words jumped out at Joe. He looked more closely. "Working-hours 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Low risk, no prior experience, adequate pay." This was it. He inconspicuously folded the page and slipped it into his jacket pocket.

Levon shot him a curious look. "Anything of interest?"

"Huh? No, nothing." Joe looked out of the window, feigning ignorance.

ADADADADADADADADAD

During their lunch break Joe refrained from going to Chicken´s. Instead he headed for the public phone in front of the station and called the firm that had issued the employment ad. He was put through to the manager at once. He immediately got an appointment for an interview in the late afternoon. When he put down the receiver he felt that life was looking up again.

ADADADADADADADADAD

The next evening found Joe at his new place of work. The requirements for the job weren´t very sophisticated and his build had easily convinced the manager that Joe was the right man for the job. He had not even said that he was a cop.

The firm´s premises were in the harbor and they were video monitored, just as could be expected. Joe´s job was to watch the video screens and to do the rounds every hour. His shift was from ten to six, just like the ad had stated. The pay wasn´t excessive but it would help to pay his debts. He kept his mind from thinking about the consequences his additional job would have on his life. No one in his right mind would really consider to handle a second job during night hours after a demanding job on a cop´s duty. He simply put aside the misgivings. Somehow life had to go on and the sooner he got a grip on things the better.


	2. Chapter 2

Levon eyed his partner with suspicion. Something was going on with Joe, he was pretty sure about it. For the last three weeks Joe had stopped joining him at Chicken´s in the evenings. Perhaps the main reason was Joe´s chronic lack of financial resources. But as that had not kept Joe from any such thing before, Levon doubted it. No more games of pool, no late night talks. Perhaps there was a woman behind the changed habits. But Joe said nothing about a new love in his life and his subdued mood also spoke against it.

But what was worse was the fact that Joe was beginning to show a considerable lack of concentration and necessary focus on the job. He was never ready for work when Levon came to pick him up in the mornings. He always was tired and just trailed along when they went on work related errands and on top of that he was becoming extremely monosyllabic. Whenever they went somewhere in the Jimmy Joe would nod off as soon as Levon turned the key in the ignition. Joe was also beginning to look drawn and Joanne took Levon aside to enquire about his partner´s state. But Levon had to admit that he had no clue.

ADADADADADADADADAD

Joe tried to develop a certain strategy to survive the long nights and to minimize the acute lack of sleep. He usually would sleep between the rounds he had to do on the hour. This compensated for some missed sleep but due to the numerous interruptions it was never enough. He was well aware that he was neglecting his duties as far as the video observation was concerned. But as long as nothing unexpected happened he was confident that he would be able to cover up his own negligence. The money the job brought in proved to be the lifeline he needed to hold onto to keep him from going under financially.

But then Joe was also neglecting his duties as a cop. He was endangering his own and his partner´s life, though not on purpose. He just wasn´t able to keep up the necessary level of alertness. It was for a good reason that the detectives were always supposed to work in pairs. Normally one would compensate for the other. But even a good team would get unbalanced if one partner constantly worked far below his potential. Though Joe was faintly aware of the impending danger, he halfheartedly pushed aside any thought of the possible consequences his own behavior might have. After all, this was only meant to be for a limited time.

ADADADADADADADADAD

Well over one and a half months passed and finally Levon thought that it was high time for some straight talking, before things got seriously out of hand. Then one day the opportunity to spy on Joe presented itself.

One Friday morning Levon as usually wanted to pick Joe up at his apartment. The person that answered the door bell was not the customary apologetic late riser. Joe was still in boxers and T-shirt, tousled hair, his face haggard and pale with dark rings under his half closed eyes. His hand was pressed against his stomach.

Levon looked at the picture before him in concern. "Yah ok, LaFiamma?"

"Not really," Joe rubbed his eyes. "I tried to call you but you were probably already gone." This was a blatant lie. Joe´s phone had been cut off well over two weeks now due to the outstanding invoices. But he had taken great pains to hide the fact. "I don´t think I can come into work today. I have a terrible stomach ache."

"Mmh," Levon gave his partner a once over. "You really don´t look so well. Ok, I guess you better stay at home then." As he turned to leave, Levon looked back over his shoulder. "Do you need anything?"

Joe held on to the doorframe and looked very pale. "No, thanks Lundy. Just tell the Lieutenant that I´m sorry I can´t make it," he said meekly.

ADADADADADADADADAD

"Do you think that Joe is really sick?" their superior Lieutenant Joanne Beaumont asked inquisitively. She knew that Levon would cover for his partner in case Joe was feigning sickness.

"Yeah, he really is sick, I´m absolutely sure. I´m actually surprised this didn´t happen earlier, the way the boy has been going about in the past weeks."

"What do you think is behind this? There is something up, isn´t there?" Joanne looked thoughtful.

"Yeah, but I have to admit that I don´t have a clue. Well, I guess it´s about time to get to the bottom of things."

The day passed with the usual routine of paperwork. Then, close to the end of his shift Levon had to accompany Esteban for an interview. They got diverted to another crime scene and when they were through with the usual routine it was close to 10 p.m.

Levon´s thoughts wandered to his partner. Before signing out from the station he tried to call Joe, only to learn that his phone was disconnected. How long had it been out of service? The fact that the phone was not working also meant that Joe had lied about phoning him this morning, and that he was unable to call for help in the case of an emergency. Now Levon was acutely alarmed. Without further ado he decided to pay his partner another visit.

ADADADADADADADADAD

A strange hunch made Levon park his car some way down Joe´s street. For a short moment he just sat there trying to figure out how to confront Joe so that the boy wouldn´t clam up right away. Just when Levon was about to open his car door he held back. A cab pulled up in front of Joe´s apartment building and seconds later Joe emerged from the building and got on the cab. Without giving it a second thought, Levon started his car and followed the cab at a safe distance. The ride ended in front of a warehouse in the harbor. Joe got out of the cab and paid the driver. Then he disappeared inside the building. Levon decided to wait and see what would happen.

An hour passed. Then Joe emerged from the building. He was wearing a jacket that looked like the uniform of a security guard. Under the jacket he seemed to be wearing a gun and a walkie-talkie. Joe disappeared behind the building and after a while he reappeared on the other side, then went inside again.

Levon was unsure what to do but then decided to just stay and watch.

Another hour passed and Joe went through exactly the same routine as before. When yet another hour had passed and the same thing happened again, Levon had grasped the significance. Joe had a second job here. He was obviously moonlighting as night watchman. Levon mentally shook his head. What did the boy think? There was no way he could do his duty as a detective on the police force during daytime and spend the night hours on another job. It was really no wonder that Joe was in such a poor state and had been for quite a while now.

The night dragged on and Levon was still pondering his options. Then out of the blue a car pulled up on the far side of the adjourning building, way out of view of the video surveillance system. Two guys with masks got out, quickly disappearing behind the building. Some time passed and Joe exited the warehouse for his next round. When he disappeared behind the building, Levon got out of the Jimmy, and drawing his gun he quietly followed his partner. Levon was about to submerge into the shadow between the two warehouses, when he heard a muffled cry and a thud. Shit, he had been too slow. The guys must have taken Joe down. Levon held his breath and pressed into the shadow.

The two perpetrators immerged again and headed for the warehouse entrance. Using a ring of keys one of them opened the door and they both quietly slipped inside. The keys were probably those Joe had been carrying.

Levon speeded back to the Jimmy, reaching for the microphone. "92-14. I´m at the site of a break in on the harbor premises. Officer down. We need backup and an ambulance." Then he hurried to the warehouse entrance, soundlessly opening the door and slipping inside. He perceived a motion in one of the store rooms to his right and quickly moved towards it. He stepped into the doorway unnoticed, his gun drawn and its security off.

The two perps were rummaging through the storeroom, oblivious of his presence. One of them ripped open a wooden crate, reached inside and with a cry of triumph held up a machine gun.

"Now just turn around real nice and slow, boys, and keep your hands up." The guy with the machine gun turned around and his jaw dropped. The other guy looked none too pleased as he swirled around towards the unknown voice. Seeing Levon with his revolver pointing directly at them they both dropped the weapons and raised their hands. Levon unhooked the hand cuffs from his belt and first tied one, then the other guy to a heavy metal desk.

Then he turned and rapidly headed out again in search of Joe. He took the route the two perps had taken and at the backside of the warehouse came upon his partner. Joe was lying on the ground, face down, arms spread wide. Cautiously he turned Joe onto his back. The younger man moaned and stirred. There was a streak of blood on the right side of his face.

Levon felt for a pulse. Joe´s heartbeat was strong and regular. Joe´s eyes flew open and with a groan of pain squinted them shut again. "Levon?" He reopened his eyes, recognition prevailing, but then bewilderment taking over. "Where, why…?" He struggled to sit up.

Levon gently pushed him down. "Easy, boy, easy."

In the distance the sirens of the backup team and the ambulance wailed through the night.

ADADADADADADADADAD

"And why were you both there? I thought Joe was at home because he had called in sick this morning?" The expression on Joanne´s face was one of total disbelief. They were in the waiting room of the ER at Mercy General, the usual hospital for any injured officer to be taken.

"Well, it´s kind of hard to explain." Levon pinched the bridge of his nose. "You remember that we talked about Joe and that something was wrong with him?"

"You mean he is in cahoots with these guys?" Joanne sucked in the air.

"No, no, of course not." Levon just did not know how to explain this without getting Joe into more trouble than he was already in. But there was just no use. He had to tell Joanne the truth. "As I see it Joe has been working here as a night watchman for some time already. And now that gang busted the place he was working at."

Joanne looked at him in total disbelief. "What? Are you kidding me?"

"No. I think you better ask Joe about this yourself."

She thought for a moment. "Didn´t you say that they tried to rob illegal weapons that were stored at that warehouse?"

Levon shrugged. "Looks like it."

"You mean Joe was onto something and got that job because he wanted to check the place out? Why didn´t you tell me?"

The possibility sounded tempting but Levon did not want to fool his boss and former partner. "I think it was just a coincident that Joe got a job at that place."

She looked stern. "Ok. So you didn´t know about it?"

"No."

"Then why were you there?"

"I spied on Joe, because I suspected something was going on."

"But why did he work there?" Her face was one big question.

"I guess he needed the money," Levon conceded.

Joanne´s jaw dropped. "Oh, I see."


	3. Chapter 3

3

Joe knew that he was in trouble, big, big trouble. The paramedics had taken him to the hospital for some stiches to the wound above his eyebrow. On his right temple a colorful bruise had formed. And the doc had diagnosed him with an acute gastritis and a mild state of exhaustion. He had asked if Joe had been under too much stress lately. But all in all there was nothing to keep Joe at the hospital for longer than the stitching up required.

Joanne had already left, but Levon waited for him in the waiting room. He seemed relieved to see his partner so soon. Joe did not meet his eyes but looked down. Levon simply ignored his contriteness.

"Come on, let´s get you home." He took the bag with meds from the nurse´s hand and led Joe to the door. Joe looked around, searching.

"Is the Lieutenant already gone?"

"Yeah, when she learnt that you were ok she did not think it necessary to wait."

Joe sighed. He was relieved that she wasn´t there to give him the telling-off he had expected. He followed Levon to the Jimmy. The ride to his apartment passed in silence. His thoughts circled around the mess he had made of his life, his career, his finances. Thinking of the consequences of his foolish actions made him fidget in the seat, and it suddenly brought home the fact to him that he was not at all feeling well. He had to admit that all he wanted right now was to crawl into bed and draw the blanket up over his head.

When they reached the apartment building Joe fumbled for his keys. Unsuccessfully searching for the lock he felt a hand on his, as Levon took the key from his trembling fingers. He let it happen. They went up the stairs to his flat. When he looked up the flight of stairs to the door he blinked in disbelief. There were two suitcases standing in front of his door. He recognized both of them as his. On one of them lay an envelope.

Levon tried the key but he did not get it into the lock. It looked like the lock had been changed. Joe reached for the envelope and opened it. It was a letter from his landlord. He had cancelled the lease contract due to the unpaid rent. What of Joe´s belongings had fitted into the suitcases, he had stashed there. All else would be returned to Joe when he had paid the outstanding rent.

Joe dropped the letter and slid down to the topmost stair. He lowered his head onto his folded arms and sobbed.

ADADADADADADADADAD

Levon had read the letter and then carried the suitcases down to the Jimmy while Joe still sat on the stairs and cried quietly. When Levon returned he laid his hand on Joe´s arm.

"Come on, Joe. Let´s go home."

"I don´t have a home anymore," Joe sniffed.

"Nonsense, it´s not as if there´s nowhere you could stay. I have lots of space at the ranch. That apartment was way too expensive and you always said you hated it." Levon pulled Joe up by his arm. Joe looked at him with large desperate eyes, but said nothing. At last he got up and followed Levon to the Jimmy.

Levon could understand that Joe was shocked by the recent turn of events. But on the other hand he had also been very lucky as far as the assault was concerned. The talk that Joe would have to have with the Lieutenant was yet another matter.

At his ranch Levon set Joe up in the guest room. Joe shed his clothes and crawled into bed. He felt miserable and his stomach ache had become worse. The throbbing pain in his head didn´t make things any better either.

Levon went about the kitchen to make some tea for him. While the pot was brewing he called Joanne at home. First she seemed annoyed by his call. But when Levon explained about Joe´s apartment she fell silent for a moment. Then she said she would come out to the ranch the next day.

Levon took the tea to the bedroom and gave Joe the medication the doctor had prescribed for the gastritis and the headache. Consoling Joe, however, proved to be a fruitless endeavor. Joe just wanted to be left alone. Half an hour later Levon found his partner asleep. Quietly he turned off the lights and closed the door.

ADADADADADADADADAD

The next day was Saturday and Levon rummaged around the house, while Joe stayed in bed like a wounded animal licking its wounds.

At noon Joanne came by to talk to him. He felt awkward about his superior seeing him in this state. But when she asked if she could sit on the bed he nodded.

For a long moment she just looked at him. All night she had pondered what to do about Joe. Though he sometimes was too impulsive, he was a great guy and a very good cop, smart, sensitive and open-minded. She valued him highly. Since he had joined the team she had kept a close eye on him. She had seen how hard he had fought and how he had tried to adjust and fit in. It would be a pity if this one mistake further dampened his career. And now she had learnt that his private situation had taken a turn for the worse. She knew that Joe could easily have asked his uncle, a Chicagoan mob boss, to help him out financially. But he had not. Not resorting to the use of dirty money was yet another point that counted in his favor.

But Joanne could not let any of this get in the way of her professional judgement. She had to keep all these considerations to herself. She was the boss and she needed to put her point across to keep her authority up undisputedly.

Joe seemed to have sensed her reluctance. He grabbed the chance to make his case. "Lieutenant, I know there is no excuse for what I did."

"Which was?"

"Getting a second job without permission and working nights." He looked down at his hands, contritely.

"Yes, you are right. There is no excuse. And though I know you did it for a reason, it does not change the severity of the misconduct." Her speech had been stern so far. As she continued her voice became softer and it carried just a hint of reproach. "I just wished you had spoken about your problems to one of us before you went through with such a stupid idea."

Joe said nothing to justify his actions. He knew that lame excuses as well as denial were inappropriate.

After a while Joanne resumed speaking, once again her voice full of authority. "I am willing to offer you one last chance, Joe. You promise that when you come back on the job you will fully concentrate on your work. No distractions, no second job, no fooling around, you understand? You know that your work performance has been beneath contempt these past weeks, don´t you?"

He nodded, his face blushing with shame.

When Joanne continued her voice was calm and he could perceive the worry in her words. "It´s really no wonder you came down with a gastritis in the end. This must have put you under far too much pressure." It was almost like she had not intended to say this aloud. Becoming aware of it, she sat up straighter and her face became businesslike again.

"The investigation confirmed that the warehouse was full of illegal weapons. So your and Levon´s involvement actually led to a very successful bust. You can imagine what will happen if the other departments learn that this was all a coincident." She looked at him with a very serious expression.  
"I will therefore issue the following official version of the events, with which I explicitly request you to go along. You understand?"

Joe looked bewildered. "Yeah, sure, Lieutenant."

"Your employment as a night watchman was a cover for the investigation we set up because we were suspecting foul play at that warehouse. The bust proved our suspicions. The whole operation was very successful." She smiled at Joe.

Joe could hardly believe what she was telling him. The new interpretation of the events did not only whitewash his actions but actually made him the hero of the day. When he met his Lieutenant´s gaze he wasn´t quite sure if he had seen her wink. But then she held his gaze and he knew that she was very serious about what was to follow.

"Joey, nobody will ever learn what happened. In return I expect your future conduct to be impeccable. Do you understand me? If I ever learn about the slightest wrongdoing from you in the future I will not be able to do anything for you." Her eyes almost pierced him and he could hardly keep from squirming. "And I wouldn´t _want_ to do anything for you either. Is that understood?"

He nodded. He knew that he owed her his career. She was a great boss and there and then he pledged to never give her a reason to reprimand him again. All of a sudden he felt a fierce loyalty to her. He was very lucky to have her as his superior.

"Oh, by the way, did you get payed for your work at the warehouse?"

Her question brought back the original problem behind all this. "Just for the first two weeks. But I guess now that we brought the owner of the warehouse in, I will not get anything else." Even though he knew he had no reason to complain, he couldn´t fight that sinking feeling. Had he really gone to such length only to be denied the pay for his work?"

She thought for a moment. "Ok, I´ll see what I can do about this. Maybe the Chief will be generous. And about your highhandedness: it would normally have earned you no less than two weeks suspension. So I think you´re not objecting to a sick leave of a similar length? That also correlates with the time of convalescence the doc recommended."

Joe´s jaw dropped, and he was unable to say anything.

Joanne got up and walked towards the door. When she stepped out of the room she heard a whispered " _Thanks Lieutenant"_ behind her.

 **The End**

There is a sequel to this story available now with the title _**Rock Bottom**_


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